The Kingdom of Heaven is like……The Two Debtors

This morning, we continue our series looking at parables of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel that begin with the phrase ‘The kingdom of heaven is like……..’ The language of ‘kingdom’ presents challenges in our time; perhaps raising images of side-lined, ceremonial duties at best and patriarchal, oppressive domination at worse. But, for the original hearers of Jesus’ parables, a new kingdom represented the possibility of real change, of freedom from oppression and just rule. Jesus’ first listeners would have assumed that this new kingdom would be achieved by military might but Jesus told parables or stories to challenge their perspective, to puzzle and provoke.

In proclaiming the kingdom of heaven, Jesus announces and enacts the intention of God for creation. “May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. The parables cause us to look closely and to wonder, what does the plan of God look like on earth, and what is my part in making it happen? This morning we look at the story about two debtors and their request for forgiveness in Matthew 18:21-35.